Massey-Ferguson type 780 combine harvester thresher, 1953-1962.

Image number: 10321521

Made by Massey Ferguson at their factory in Kilmarnock, Scotland, this machine is of a generation of combines which brought mechanised cereal harvesting to a large number of farmers in Britain and throughout the world. In the UK, the use of combines had been boosted by the need to increase food production during World War II. Food shortages after the war meant that the use of combines continued to increase, until they became a common sight in the 1950s. Of note is that this machine is a 'bagger' combine. It delivered its grain graded into sacks as did the threshing machines it replaced. The filled sacks were off-loaded from the combine while it was moving, down a chute onto the field surface. It was then collected by trailer and taken away to be dried.